How to connect to Windows server via RDP

What is RDP

RDP (Remote Desktop) is a necessary tool for working with VDS servers running the Windows operating system (Windows 7-11 or Windows Server). With RDP, you can interact with the VPS remotely, just like you would with your own computer. You will have access to the full Windows desktop and GUI you are familiar with. VDS in this case, can be placed on a remote computer in the Data Center of another country. One of the most useful features of RDP (Remote Desktop) is that it can be used from any OS by installing the appropriate client. Therefore, you will be able to use RDP on your computer running Windows, macOS or Linux. Below we will explain how to connect to Windows Server with an example, as well as our recommendations on the best remote desktop applications to use your server comfortably. To connect you need to know the server IP address, username and password.

Connecting from Windows (all versions)

One of the most common and probably the best remote access client is “Remote Desktop Connection” (RDC). It is included in all versions of Windows as a regular client.

  1. To start RDC, click on the “Start” of your computer and search for “Remote Desktop Connection”. (If you can’t find it, you can start it manually by clicking Start > Run > mstsc.exe).
  2. Enter the Windows server data (They are registered in the “Instructions” in your personal account. You will need to click on the service.) as follows:

Computer: Server IP
User name: Administrator
Click on “Allow me to save credentials”

Click on the “Connect” button and in the new window specify the password from the Instruction and click the “OK” button

Once connected, your desktop will look like this

Now you can use the VDS over Remode Desktop Connection just like any other computer. When you close the RDP window, the server will continue to work even if you turn off the Internet or turn off your computer.

Connecting from macOS

macOS users can also use the official Microsoft RDC, one of the best remote desktop apps for OS X. You can download it here.

Open “Microsoft Remote Desktop” and click on the “plus”

A new window opens, where we also have to fill in the data from the Instruction. Specify the IP address of the server, then click on “User account” and select “Add User Account”.

Then another window opens where we specify the “Administrator” login and he’s password, then click on “Add” and save our connection. If we do not do this, then each time we will be asked for login data.

Double click on the name of the connection to connect to the server. You will receive a certificate warning. Click “Show Certificate”. Select the “Always trust….” checkbox to avoid future self-signed certificate warnings.

Another app we recommend for macOS is called CoRD. It is open source and you can download it here. The required login credentials will be the same as we specified above.

Connecting from Linux

There are many RDP apps for Linux and they are all free.
We can recommend “Remmina”, “rdesktop”, “FreeRDP”.

To connect, we use the same data from the Instructions.

Connecting from Android / iOS

There is one application and it is the best – “Microsoft Remote Desktop”.

You can download it for Android here.
You can download it for iOS here.

To connect to the server through this applications, use the same data from the Instruction.